Page - 160 - in Reflective Cosmopolitanism - Educating towards inclusive communities through Philosophical Enquiry

160 REfLECTIvE COsMOPOLITANIsM out randomly to the students. At this point every student will look for one or more classmates who have written a skill similar to his or hers. After having discussed the different ways they learned their skills, the students will form small groups in which they exchange methods and knowledge on their specific skills. Finally, the groups will present to the class their skills, in what circumstances their skills were imple- mented (if they were indeed implemented), and what conclusions were reached in terms of creativity. Then you will ask each group to find out if they have any skills in common with other groups. If so, larger work teams can be created. Could it happen that at the end there is only one big work group? Leading Idea 2: Social network Adolescents use social networks a lot and spend most of their time on them; they make friends, argue, share multi-media material, break up with their boyfriends or girlfriends, share jealousy, and gossip. They often use the web like a diary where the individual and secret dimension, which the traditional diary guaranteed, is now public like a sort of collective exhibitionism. If, on the one hand, we can think that social networks provide a broadened possi- bility of meeting people by creating relationships beyond our local sphere of friends (it is much easier and immediate to make friends and keep in touch with people who live far away than using traditional mail services), on the other hand, it is also true that teena- gers often reproduce on the web the same relational dynamics that happen in their life offline. This creates a barrier where only those who have the same ideas are accepted. Nevertheless, the possibilities to make new friends on Facebook or other social net- works are endless. It could be interesting to discuss with your students their perception of friendships born on the web and if they consider those relationships akin to those they have off the web. Does the internet allow them to have authentic friendships? Discussion Plan: Social network 1. If I meet someone in a chat room who lives in Mexico, can I become his or her friend? 2. If I meet someone in a chat room who doesn’t speak my language, can I become his or her friend? 3. Can I be friends with someone I meet only on Facebook? 4. Is there any difference between the friendships I make on the web and those I make at school or in other places? 5. In my life offline, can I have 100 friends like I can on Facebook? 6. Am I more or less close to my friends that I interact with on Facebook compared to those I meet up with in person? 7. Is it better to stay at home and chat on the computer or to go out and eat a sand- wich with my friends? 8. When I chat on my computer, do I appear the same way to others as I appear when I meet them in person? 9. Is chatting with my cousins, who live in a far country, the same as when meeting them in their houses? 10. When I surf the internet am I free to visit all the websites I want? 11. Why do social networks exist?